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As reported in Roll Call, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has sent letters to 300 companies connected with the American Legislative Exchange Council, better known as ALEC, regarding “stand your ground.” Durbin is asking the companies whether they support “stand your ground” laws or not.

Hearings on “stand your ground” will be held in Florida. That was decided after the Dream Defenders successfully demanded hearings on the law and Florida Republicans agreed. Sen. Durbin, who is chair of the Senate Judiciary’s subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, will hold hearings on “stand your ground” in September. Unsurprisingly, no hearings on the subject are expected on the GOP controlled House side.

Excerpts of Durbin’s letter:

“I write to seek information regarding your company’s position on “stand your ground” legislation that was adopted as a national model by an organization called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). In 2005, ALEC approved the adoption of model ‘stand your ground’ legislation entitled the ‘Castle Doctrine Act.’ This model legislation was based on Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ law, and it changes the criminal law regarding self-defense and provides immunity for certain uses of deadly force.

“Although ALEC does not maintain a public list of corporate members or donors, other public documents indicate that your company funded ALEC at some point during the period between ALEC’s adoption of model “stand your ground” legislation in 2005 and the present day. I acknowledge your company’s right to actively participate in the debate of important political issues, regardless of your position, and I recognize that a company’s involvement with ALEC does not necessarily mean that the company endorses all positions taken by the organization. Therefore I am seeking clarification whether companies that have funded ALEC’s operations in the past currently support ALEC and the model ‘stand your ground’ legislation.”

About the Author

Lauren Victoria Burke

Lauren Victoria Burke is a writer, speaker, strategist, comms expert and political analyst. She created Crewof42.com, a blog that covers the work of Black members of Congress, in 2009. She's been a former staffer for the Senate Democratic Policy Committee and Director of Communications for Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) and has had a very diverse career in politics and media. Ms. Burke appears regularly on NewsOneNow with Roland Martin on TVOne and has been seen on MSNBC. She holds a B.A. in History from The American University. E-mail anytime: LBurke007@gmail.com. Twitter: @Crewof42. Instagram: LVB325.
The ideas and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, and have complete editorial independence from any Politic365 partners, sponsors, or advertisers.

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